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America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009

Family and Social Environment Figures

Indicator FAM1.A: Percentage of children ages 0–17 by presence of parents in the household, 1980–2008
Percentage of children ages 0–17 by presence of parents in the household, 1980–2008

NOTE: Prior to 2007, Current Population Survey (CPS) data identified only one parent on the child's record. This meant that a second parent could only be identified if they were married to the first parent. In 2007, a second parent identifier was added to CPS. This permits identification of two coresident parents, even if the parents are not married to each other. In this figure "two parents" reflects all children who have both a mother and father identified in the household, including biological, step, and adoptive parents. Before 2007, "mother only" and "father only" included some children who lived with a parent who was living with the other parent of the child, but was not married to them. Beginning in 2007, "mother only" and "father only" refer to children for whom only one parent has been identified, whether biological, step, or adoptive.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

Indicator FAM1.B: Percentage of children ages 0–17 living in various family arrangements, 2008
Percentage of children ages 0–17 living in various family arrangements, 2008

1 Includes children living with two stepparents.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

Indicator FAM2.A: Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother, 1980–2007
Birth rates for unmarried women by age of mother, 1980–2007

NOTE: The 2007 rate for total ages 15–44 is preliminary. 2007 data for specific age groups are not yet available.

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.

Indicator FAM2.B: Percentage of all births to unmarried women by age of mother, 1980 and 2007
Percentage of all births to unmarried women by age of mother, 1980 and 2007

NOTE: Data for 2007 are preliminary.

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.

Indicator FAM3.A: Primary child care arrangements for children ages 0–4 with employed mothers, selected years 1985–2005 and summer 200619
Primary child care arrangements for children ages 0–4 with employed mothers, selected years 1985–2005 and summer 2006

a SIPP child care data collected in 2006 cannot be compared directly with SIPP child care data from previous years due to seasonality differences such as preschool closings, seasonal variations in school activities, and availability of child care arrangements. The 2006 child care data were collected during summer months, whereas previous survey years typically collected data during spring or fall months.

NOTE: The primary arrangement is the arrangement used for the most number of hours per week while the mother worked.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Indicator FAM3.B: Percentage of children ages 0–6 not yet in kindergarten by type of care arrangement and poverty status, 2005
Percentage of children ages 0–6 not yet in kindergarten by type of care arrangement and poverty status, 2005

NOTE: Respondents indicated whether children had weekly nonparental care arrangements, regardless of the amount of time spent in such care. Some children participated in more than one type of arrangement, so the sum of all arrangement types exceeds the total percentage in nonparental care. Center-based programs included day care centers, prekindergartens, nursery schools, Head Start programs, and other early childhood education programs. Relative and nonrelative care could have taken place in either the child's own home or another home.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys Program.

Indicator FAM3.C: Percentage of children in kindergarten through 8th grade by weekday care and activities, 2005
Percentage of children in kindergarten through 8th grade by weekday care and activities, 2005

NOTE: Some children participate in more than one type of care arrangement or activity. For self care, parents reported that their child is responsible for himself/herself before or after school on a regular basis. Parents reported on organized before- or after-school activities that are undertaken by their child on a regular basis.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys Program.

Indicator FAM4: Percentage of children ages 0–17 by nativity of child and parents, selected years 1994–2008
Percentage of children ages 0–17 by nativity of child and parents, selected years 1994–2008

NOTE: Includes children under 18 in households. Children living in households with no parents present are not shown in this figure, but are included in the bases for the percentages. Native parents means that all of the parents that the child lives with are native-born, while foreign-born means that one or both of the child's parents are foreign-born. Anyone with U.S. citizenship at birth is considered native, which includes people born in the United States and in U.S. outlying areas, and people born abroad with at least one American parent. Foreign-born children with native parents are included in the native children with native parents category. Prior to 2007, Current Population Survey (CPS) data identified only one parent on the child's record. This meant that a second parent could only be identified if they were married to the first parent. In 2007, a second parent identifier was added to CPS. This permits identification of two coresident parents, even if the parents are not married to each other.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

Indicator FAM5: Percentage of children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home and who have difficulty speaking English, selected years 1979–2007
Percentage of children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home and who have difficulty speaking English, selected years 1979–2007

NOTE: Numbers from the 1995 and 1999 Current Population Survey (CPS) may reflect changes in the survey because of newly instituted computer-assisted interviewing techniques and/or because of the change in the population controls to the 1990 Census-based estimates, with adjustments. A break is shown in the lines between 1999 and 2000 because data from 1979 to 1999 come from the CPS, while beginning in 2000 the data come from the American Community Survey (ACS). The questions were the same on the CPS and the ACS questionnaires.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, October (1992, 1995, and 1999) and November (1979 and 1989) Current Population Surveys, and 2000–2007 American Community Survey.

Indicator FAM6: Birth rates for females ages 15–17 by race and Hispanic origin, 1980–2007
Birth rates for females ages 15–17 by race and Hispanic origin, 1980–2007

NOTE: Data for 2007 are preliminary. Race refers to mother's race. The 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. Although state reporting of birth certificate data is transitioning to comply with the 1997 OMB standard for race and ethnic statistics, data from states reporting multiple races were bridged to the single-race categories of the 1977 OMB standards for comparability with other states and for trend analysis. Rates for 1980–1989 are not shown for Hispanics; White, non-Hispanics; or Black, non-Hispanics because information on Hispanic origin of the mother was not reported on birth certificates of most states and because population estimates by Hispanic ethnicity for the reporting states were not available. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected and reported separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.

Indicator FAM7: Rate of substantiated maltreatment reports of children ages 0–17 by age, 1998–2007
Rate of substantiated maltreatment reports of children ages 0–17 by age, 1998–2007

NOTE: The count of child victims is based on the number of investigations by Child Protective Services that found the child to be a victim of one or more types of maltreatment. The count of victims is, therefore, a report-based count and is a "duplicated count," since an individual child may have been maltreated more than once. The number of states reporting varies from year to year. States vary in their definition of abuse and neglect. Data from 2007 are not directly comparable with prior years as differences may be partially attributed to changes in one state's procedures for determination of maltreatment. Other reasons include the increase in children who received an "other" disposition, the decrease in the percentage of children who received a substantiated or indicated disposition, and the decrease in the number of children who received an investigation or assessment.

SOURCE: Administration for Children and Families, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System.

19 Center-based care includes day care centers, nursery schools, preschools and Head Start programs. Home-based care or other nonrelative care includes family day care providers, babysitters, nannies, friends, neighbors, and other nonrelatives providing care in either the child's or provider's home. Other relatives include siblings and other relatives. Mother care includes care by the mother while she worked. To see trends in individual child care arrangement types refer to Overturf Johnson, J. (2005). Who's minding the kids? Child care arrangements: Winter 2002. Current Population Reports, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 70–101.